Imposter Scams Cost Americans $3.5 Billion in 2025 — A 27% Surge
By John Nada·Jun 26, 2026·3 min read
Imposter scams in 2025 led to $3.5 billion in losses, marking a 27% increase from 2024. Older adults are particularly vulnerable.
"There are some consumers who are losing very high-dollar amounts," said Patty Hsue, FTC's chief of staff for the Division of Marketing Practices. No sugarcoating here: while 80% of the roughly one million reports filed didn't result in financial loss, the remaining 20% lost a whopping $3.5 billion. That's no small change.
Reported by CNBC Business, the Federal Trade Commission's annual data painted a grim picture of escalating fraud. Losses in 2025 soared to about $15.9 billion — an unprecedented high, surging 27% from the previous year. Scams pulling in $100,000 or more were rampant, particularly preying on those 60 or older.
"While we get tons and tons of imposter reports from people of all ages … older adults do tend to report more money losses than younger adults," Hsue noted. It's telling. The older demographic seems more vulnerable, accounting for a significant $1.6 billion chunk of the total reported losses.
Amy Nofziger from the AARP Fraud Watch Network observed, "Most of the time we hear from women more because they are more likely to report their victimization." A noteworthy gender nuance — women report their experiences more, and often on behalf of male family members.
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The sophistication of these scams is another alarming trend. Bank impersonators led the pack with $1 billion in 2025 losses. Government impersonators weren't far behind, contributing another $920 million. It's a tangled web of deceit, becoming more sophisticated as criminals utilize tools like AI to perfect their scams.
"We used to say to look for spelling errors or poor grammar," Nofziger said. Those days are gone. Now, scams are polished, packaged, and convincing. Imposters might first pose as a trusted business, then deftly pivot to being a fake government agent, convincing victims they need to move their money to 'protect it'.
In an age where caller IDs and emails can spoof authenticity, Hsue warns, "You can't always trust that it's necessarily the entity that you're speaking with." It's a digital mirage, where the danger lies not just in the crime, but in the seamless believability of the act.
The FTC urges quick reporting if you've been caught. Sometimes, reporting within 24-48 hours might just save your pocket. "Recognize that scams are targeting all of us," adds Nofziger. It's not about intelligence; it's about the emotional cues the scam capitalizes on.
The battle against fraud isn't just a financial issue — it's systemic. An attack on trust itself.